For so long, Pacific stories have been recorded through somebody else’s eyes, but Tikilounge Productions Executive Producer Papali’i Lisa Taouma says documentary telling gives us the chance to turn that lens back towards ourselves and tell our histories in our own voices.
“It is a chance to tell those stories from inside our own cultures, with all the complexity, humour, pain and beauty that comes with that,” Papali’i says.
“For Moana people especially, so much of our history lives outside written archives, it lives in our matua, our families, our languages, our songs and the memories carried across generations.
“To me when we document those voices, we’re not just making content, we’re creating a record that says we were here, this happened to us, and this is how we remember it.”
Papali’i is looking forward to championing Pacific stories in the inaugural Pasifika On Air (POA) Focus on Documentary, Producers Masterclass and Documentary Fund 2026, having been selected to lead the Masterclass component.
Five producers/producer teams will be selected to participate in an intensive five-day Documentary Producers Masterclass created and presented by Papali’i, an established and accomplished Pacific documentary maker herself.
The initiative is aimed at strengthening Pacific documentary-making capability by providing practical development, production knowledge and funding opportunities for Pacific producers, while creating a pathway for three projects to move from idea to completed, broadcast-ready documentary.
Papali’i says this is a unique opportunity for producers to start telling the legion of stories in Moana communities.
“This initiative is important as we are playing catch up with our factual storytelling giving the huge scope of our history and current issues in the Pacific.”
During the Masterclass, Papali’i will look at what makes indigenous storytelling unique and how it is vital to honour the communities and networks we live in, and to develop content with them.
“Other things covered will include refining an idea into a structure, making the idea match the resource, understanding the audience you are speaking to – and speaking to them in style and tone that they will engage with, and who needs to see this story and what change we want to happen after they see it,” Papali’i adds.
“Participants will learn basic shooting techniques and style, breaking down projects into achievable shooting blocks and making a sizzle reel as an initial visual indicator of the project idea, which should result in some well-rounded documentary projects to move on to the production funding stage.”
Facilitating this Masterclass is an exciting challenge for Papali’i, who has worked among Pacific communities for over 25 years.
“I love having this opportunity to actively work with groups to be able to access rare and important funding opportunities like this,” she says.
Expressions of interest are now open for the inaugural POA Focus on Documentary, Producers Masterclass and Documentary Fund 2026, and will close October 16, 2026.